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Pleasure Slave	By : Capitalist Category: +. to F > Card Captor Sakura Views: 84321 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 37
- 38
- 39
Chapter 38
‘escape’

Rain fell in gentle sheets over the valley, obscuring the view and bringing an early dusk to the summer evening. The clean scent of rain-washed air drifted through the open balcony door, a welcome change from the muggy heat, and Yue’s hands worked gently underneath Touya’s shirt to remove it completely. Kisses soft as the pitter-patter of raindrops dotted along his collar bone and neck.
When should they go? Day, or night? Night seemed the most obvious choice, given its cover of darkness, and that once Sakura had been put away in her cage for the night it would be at least eight hours before anyone noticed her absence. But Touya had followed the path just long enough to see how treacherous it was going to be, and there was no barrier between it and the long drop into darkness below.
Yue’s lips traveled up and found his, and kissed him tenderly.
In the shadow of the castle, so little light reached the path as it was. Trying to navigate it in the darkness would only end in disaster. Much better to leave in the middle of the day, after Sakura had had her walk and would not be collected again until dinner. Six hours at least; that was more than enough time to give them a good start. And since the path wound behind the castle and up into the woods, Touya was not overly worried about sentries. There would be cover enough.
Hands plunged beneath his waistline, stroking him while Yue’s teeth nibbled at his neck.
Weather like this would not do, of course. Rain would turn their already-precarious route into a slick death trap, and make it harder to see besides. They would have to wait for a dry day, the hotter the better. Should they wear shoes? It would make things much easier, and he supposed it wasn’t impossible to go looting through the servants’ quarters to find suitable pairs. That risk was too great, though, especially since he wasn’t familiar with that corner of the castle. Sakura had her satin slippers, though they probably wouldn’t last an hour, and Touya was tough. He could handle a pebbly path for a short while, at least.
His pants were gone, and Yue spread his legs to gain better access with his mouth. A warm wetness enclosed him, and Touya arched his back against the cool sheets.
Of course, the real problem lay in getting Sakura out of her cage. It would probably be simple enough to tail her and blondie back to her cage, knock the slimy bastard to the floor, and take the key by force. But though the idea had considerable appeal, it nullified the point of disappearing with a long head start. Even if he brought the materials to bind and gag him, he couldn’t be sure Ralen wouldn’t find some way to raise an alarm. And it would be just his luck that Sakura would scream and draw someone else’s attention to the whole mess.
His body climaxed and Touya collapsed with a sigh against the sheets, not even tensing when Yue drew up one knee to expose him. Penetration was smooth and painless.
Taking the key by stealth was his best shot; he’d just have to be very careful about it. Once she was free, getting to Clow’s tower without meeting anyone on the way would be perfectly easy. He’d find something to use for a torch and leave it there in advance. Surely they’d be in the woods before sunset – the distance wasn’t that great. Should he try and raid the kitchen for some food? Again, risky. The late summer forest would be top-heavy with fruit and nuts, the streams bursting with trout, and the country-born pair shouldn’t have any problem feeding themselves along the way. Certainly they’d do better, Touya thought smugly, than any of the city-bred guard sent to pursue them.
Tonight he was taking it slow, and Yue rocked against him at a pace as gentle as the rainfall, arms sliding between him and sheets to cup his shoulders and pull him closer.
While the castle servants hunted in the city, or floundered through a forest they had no idea how to survive in, he and Sakura would stay well away from the road and make good time traveling under the treetops. He had an excellent sense of direction. They only had to keep east until the curve of the valley, then follow the setting sun as they began the climb up into the mountains. He might try to aim for Clearwater, or perhaps they’d just make straight for Hunter’s Junction if that was simpler. From there it was only a hop and skip home.
Now it was Yue’s turn to climax, and when he had done so fell against Touya in contentment.
He’d never told Yue its name, right? No, that had never come up – if anything, Yue seemed to detest talking about his beloved home village. He seriously doubted Sakura had told anyone either. There, one of a hundred tiny villages scattered about in the mountains, they would be hidden away and perfectly safe. Leaving them to live the rest of their lives… just like before…
“Toya?” Yue nuzzled the hollow of his neck, and Touya articulated a vague acknowledgment within his throat.
“Un?”
“You seem distracted. Is your dream of Clow still bothering you?”
“No,” Touya answered quite truthfully.
“Are you sure? Your eyes have a faraway look in them.”
“I’m fine. Really, very fine. I was just thinking, that’s all.” Touya kissed him, which he knew would pacify Yue like a toddler given a sweet. Eyes closed when Touya pulled away, he exhaled and dropped his head to Touya’s chest again.
No matter what, Touya knew one thing for certain. He’d known it even while he was still standing on his discovery, thoughts whirling with surprise and joy and excitement. Without doubt, they would have to wait until Yue had disappeared on another of his mysterious missions. There was no way, not even a slim chance, that Touya could attempt escape while he was here. Not so much because of the danger that a winged and searching Yue posed to their plans, though that was considerable, but because in his heart Touya knew he could not do it. Leaving him was going to be hard enough as it was; he’d never have the resolve if Yue was in the castle.
Eventually Yue fell asleep, still curled against his body, and Touya lay awake listening to the rain. There were things he would miss, about this place, he knew that and was trying to be honest with himself. The vast space, obviously, and the luxurious appointments. It was probably going to be hard, going back to a corn-husk mattress and bathing in a chilly creek. Sakura would surely miss her pretty dresses, though Touya couldn’t wait to get her back into some more modest, respectable clothing. The library, of course, and playing piano. He doubted if one existed anywhere between Eagle’s Path and Terriene itself. And, he admitted, he would miss Yue.
Especially at nights… nights like this when Yue’s body fit so cozily against his, long snow white hair draped across both of them. His kisses, and the fantastic heat they always ignited in his blood. He would miss their passionate lust, tumbling onto the bed and frantically clawing at one another’s clothing, burning for the pleasure of flesh against flesh. How his eyes glittered violet in the firelight, and the pride kindling in Touya’s chest because he knew that his touch excited Yue and could leave him begging for more. Living here with him was not so bad.
Ridiculous, he scoffed mentally. Had Yue not destroyed his life? Imprisoned both him and Sakura? Subjected him to all kinds of pain and degradation, whipped him, stripped him of both virginity and dignity? He tried to work himself into a rage, reminding himself of how he hated Yue in the beginning, but inscrutably he failed. He could not hate Yue, but he did hate the life of a prisoner. If for no other reason, Touya would escape this castle so that one day he might live without asking permission to go outside.

“Twenty-six,” Li announced, three days later when the rain had finally stopped. Out in their courtyard for the first time in a while, Sakura shot him a quizzical glance.
“Twenty-six what?”
“Pieces of gold. We’ve just been paid again, and that’s how much I’ve got so far. We’re an eighth the way there.”
Sakura’s face fell. “That’s all? We have so far to go…”
He squeezed her chin playfully. “Try not to be too discouraged, Sakura. I’m making much more now that I’m captain. And I never kept very much of my salary anyway; I’ve always sent most of it home to Mother because I don’t need much money here at the castle. From now on I’ll keep more of it.”
“But doesn’t your family need that gold?”
“They’ll manage. My mother is very smart, she won’t let them starve.” He pointed a stern finger. “Don’t make that face.”
She had indeed been making a rather long face. “Oh Syaoran, I don’t want to be responsible for your family’s hardship -”
“You’re not responsible for anything. It isn’t your fault you’re a slave. When you’re free and I’ve brought you home, they’ll understand. Knowing them, my sisters will fall all over themselves to welcome you.” He rolled his eyes, and Sakura managed a tentative smile.
“They sound like such wonderful people. I really can’t wait to meet them… though it might take years.”
“I’m doing my best, Sakura,” Li promised her. “I won’t spend a cent on anything until I’ve bought you from Yue.”
This time her smile was more genuine. “I know. I believe you, and I can wait. As long as Master Yue still wants Onii-chan, everything will be fine. Oh, but I’m not much looking forward to the fit he’ll throw when you buy me.”
There it was again, that nagging in Li’s mind that something about their plan wasn’t quite right. What was it that Kinomoto said?
“He’s been acting a little strange lately,” Sakura mused, disrupting his train of thought. Whatever the clue was, he’d lost it again.
“What, attacking more wood piles?”
She laughed. “No. Master Yue is here and I’m sure they haven’t fought – if anything, Onii-chan seems to be in a good mood. He gets these funny little grins and then won’t tell me why. Last night, he asked me if I was happy here.”
“What did you say?”
“I told him of course I was. He didn’t like that answer very much, I think. When I asked him what this was about he wouldn’t say. Then he grinned again.”
“And you wonder why I don’t like him.”
“Silly. It’s a little odd, but I’m sure it’s nothing terrible. If he’s got a secret up his sleeve, then he’ll tell me when he wants to.”
Li didn’t much like the sound of that either, but it would have been impossible to explain why. He shrugged off the feeling, and settled back to watch Sakura begin her dancing practice.

Two weeks had passed since Touya’s encounter with Clow when Yue stiffened one night in their bedroom. It was sooner than expected, but not very, and quite strong. Touya broke off mid-sentence and Yue could feel that he had tensed as well.
“I have to go,” Yue announced, though he knew his slave did not need to be told. Mentally he braced himself for an explosion.
None came. When Touya spoke, his voice was strained but even. “Now?”
“Yes, now.”
Again, no immediate reply. Touya shut the book after a minute of silence, and set it aside. “Okay.”
Yue’s eyebrows lifted. “Okay? That’s all? You aren’t going to throw a silly fit?”
“No.”
Yet his posture seemed awfully rigid, his shoulders hunched slightly as he glared at the fire. Yue wondered, but he did not have the time to linger. He stood.
“I take my leave then. Extinguish the fire yourself if you wish to stay up and read.”
“Wait!”
“What is it?” Impatiently Yue turned back, to see Touya had jumped to his feet. The firelight was casting some odd shadows across his face – why did he look so upset? Conflict and anguish flickered through his black eyes while Yue watched.
“Toya?”
“I – wait, I -”
“Toya, I must go.”
He turned away again only to be held back by Touya’s sudden and strong grasp on his wrist. Before Yue could protest he closed the distance between them and kissed him, more passionately and lovingly than Yue could ever recall him kissing before. He was surprised, and not a little gratified, when his slave pulled away. Whatever upset there was before, it was gone now, leaving only a faint melancholy.
“Goodbye.”
“Goodbye to you too.” Yue squeezed his hand and released it, sweeping toward the balcony. How nice, that his slave would miss his master so terribly – it made Yue feel warm and generous to the boy. He must return as quickly as possible to lavish some reward on him.
He knew, in his intuitive way, that Touya followed him as far as the balcony door and stood watching as Yue spread his wings and flew away. What he did not know, and never would, that the eyes that watched were filling with tears.

Stop it! Almost angrily Touya rubbed a sleeve against his eyes, disgusted with his unexpected doubts and weaknesses. Didn’t he want his freedom still? Wasn’t it his life? Touya turned away from the open air and approached the bed, but he did not move to pull back the covers. He’d never be able to sleep anyway, so he might as well go spend the hours in the music room, or perhaps say goodbye to all the books in the library. He would not spend another night in this room.
Mechanically he tugged at the edges of the sheets, pulling them extra smooth and neat. Everything should look perfect… the same way it was when he first arrived here. Giving in to an urge he’d been suppressing for weeks, he reached behind his neck and unhooked the hated necklace. He left it in a puddle of silver in the exact center of the bed.
Now there was no going back. He put out the fire, left the room, and shut the doors behind him.

Ralen was not exactly sure what happened. One minute he’d been screaming at Siki to take care of those windows before he did something she’d regret, and the next he was lying flat on his back. All he’d done was turn on his heels and start marching away, but barely a step into the hallway his feet flew out from underneath him and he hit the marble with an unforgiving slam. His yell of pain and surprise was embarrassingly loud.
The slave’s face appeared overhead, biting his lip in an effort not to grin.
“Have you ever heard that expression, ‘turnabout is fairplay’?”
A ringing pain in the back of his skull made it difficult to think. He’d slipped so suddenly… was it something on the floor? Cooking oil?
“You!” he wheezed, and then Siki was crouching behind him and anxiously inquiring as to his welfare.
“Oh sir, did that hurt? Are you in pain?”
“Go away!”
“Yes sir!”
She fled. Apoplectic that one of his servants had seen him humiliated this way, Ralen shot Touya a murderous look.
“You- you did this? You lowlife slave, when I tell Yue -”
“What? That I made you slip and fall because you made me slip and fall? I don’t think you’re going to admit that.” Ralen was having a hard time getting up, between his throbbing back and the slick surface, and Touya offered a hand. “Here. Let me help you up.”
“Stay away from me, peasant! I can stand on my own!” A hand that had been bracing up his weight gave way, and Ralen would have hit the floor again if Touya hadn’t snatched his shirt.
“Hmm, don’t think so. Jeez, blondie, can’t you handle what you throw at others? It’s dangerous to dish out what you can’t take.” Futilely Ralen tried to slap away Touya’s hands, but the slave was both bigger and stronger and seemed to be taking inordinate delight in manhandling him as much as possible as he dragged his overseer to his feet.
“There. No harm done, unfortunately. You should be more careful, Ralen.” An odd gleam shone in his black eyes. “You are responsible for us, after all. Can’t have you falling down on the job.”
“I know what is my responsibility!” Impatiently Ralen pushed himself away, pleased to find solid dry floor under his feet. “Now stop touching me and getting your filth on me. You should not even be down here! I’ll report to Yue that you left the upper levels of the castle.”
“Yeah, you do that.” His lips quirked into a brief grin, but he was backing away. “I’m going. Bye.”
“Bye,” Ralen replied acidly, not even noticing the significant inflection in Touya’s tone. He must have gotten oil all over his clothes, and now he’d have to go change. And his spine was killing him already. He’d have Lara give him a massage later. And when the first opportunity arose, he would definitely report to Yue that Touya had wandered down here. Maybe he’d get a lashing for it.
Touya departed, and grouchily Ralen limped in the opposite direction. He’d already distributed the servants’ wages for the month, and had just returned Sakura to her cage for the afternoon. It would be several hours before he noticed his keys were gone.

She was in the middle of some kind of stretching when he found her, her hands wrapped around her feet and chest almost touching her legs, gaze fixed dreamily on the view outside.
He whistled, softly. “Wake up, you little monster. It’s time to go.”
She never was very alert to her surroundings. Startled, Sakura twisted towards him and released her grip. “Onii-chan! What are you doing here?”
“Just told you. I’m here to get you out, because it’s time to go. Guess what? We’re going home today!”
She never was all that quick on the uptake either. Amused at her blank stare, Touya jangled Ralen’s key ring through the bars. “Which one is it?”
“Those- those are Ralen’s keys! How did you -”
“He’s an idiot, that’s how.”
“But Onii-chan! You’ll get in so much trouble!”
“Only if we stay here.” There were five to choose from. Methodically Touya inserted each into the lock until one turned with a click, and the cage door opened easily. Pride and accomplishment swelled in his chest; his little sister would not have to spend another night in this ridiculous and degrading birdcage. She was on her feet now, but still staring stupidly.
“Come on, already.” He grasped her hand firmly and pulled her forward, and clumsily she stumbled out onto the floor.
“Onii-chan, I don’t understand. What do you think you’re doing?”
“Sakura, I’m doing what we’ve been dreaming about for months, what we couldn’t do the first night we tried. I’m getting us out of here!”
This time, some kind of understanding filtered into her green eyes. She laughed, and it seemed to have a slightly nervous edge to it.
“Don’t be silly, Nii-chan. You know we can’t escape this castle. There’s the gates, and the guard men. It’s impossible.”
“Not anymore it’s not.”
Everything was going right. The ease with which he’d stolen Ralen’s keys, right under his nose, had fueled Touya with adrenaline. His muscles twitched for activity, eager to start walking, eager for escape. Touya shut the cage door with a satisfied bang and, as a final touch for Ralen, tossed the key ring into the exact center of the cage where it would be out of reach. That Sakura’s eyes hadn’t lit up with excitement and in fact were rather dismayed did not register. He merely took her hand again and started walking, and she scurried to keep pace.
“Onii-chan, you shouldn’t have done that. You know we can’t leave this castle, it’s very well-guarded and Master Yue would be so angry. Now what will I tell Ralen when he finds I’m not in my cage?”
“You won’t tell him anything because, god willing, you’ll never see that bastard again. Hurry up now, we’ve got a lot of walking to do today.”
Brushing aside all her protests and doubts, Touya pulled his sister down hallways and up stairwells, along the well-practiced route he’d spent much of the night pacing. Clow’s door he’d left open a crack, but once they were through he shut it firmly behind them.
“Onii-chan?” Sakura was hugging her arms to her chest, taking in their dusty surroundings with considerable unease, but he did not reply. He’d left a thick candle on the alcove an hour earlier and still it burned, its faithful flame undisturbed by any breezes in this protected place. A stick he’d wrapped in an oily rag on one end made for his torch, and he touched it to the flame. This would do for light.
“Now watch this.”
This time the wall opened even more smoothly, in response to his tug on the statuette, perhaps because the gears had already ground through any caked dirt. Sakura jumped back with a small shriek when the dark passage revealed itself, her eyes round as teacups.
“Oh my…” Dazed, her mouth opened once or twice while Touya looked on as smugly as if he’d tunneled out the passage himself. “You- you’re serious. You really found a way out.”
“I told you. So what are you waiting for? Let’s go!”
She flinched when he reached for her hand, and stepped back. “No!”
“Huh?” It was the first hitch in a plan that otherwise was going exactly like it was supposed to, and now it was Touya’s turn to stare. “What did you say?”
“No, Onii-chan. I- we can’t.” She kept backing away, until she’d backed into the stone wall behind her. “It’s not right.”
“Not right? How can you say that, we’ve been prisoners here all this time! That’s what’s not right!”
“I know, but… I don’t think we should.”
“What? Why? What reason would you ever have for wanting to stay in this place?”
Her mouth opened, but no answer was forthcoming and helplessly she shook her head. “Onii-chan, how can you want to leave Master Yue?”
Just when he’d managed to bury it, a sharp spike of self-doubt cropped up again and Touya had to force it down. No, he’d thought this through, he was doing the right thing.
“Never mind about him,” he snapped, a little more harshly than he’d intended. “I’ve decided that we’re going. So come on.”
This time, he did not allow her to back out of range. Grasping her wrist very firmly, Touya tugged her forward into the darkness. She was no match for his strength, and with a squeak she let herself be dragged along. The torch did help, a little, but the meager daylight behind them faded within seconds and soon she was too frightened to break away even if she’d wanted to.
Sakura had always hated dark and scary places, he knew, which was why he’d taken pains to make sure they’d have a little light. Now she huddled close to his side, her breath escaping her in shallow gasps, cringing away from the blackness that pressed in on their flickering light.
“Onii-chan, please… let’s go back. I don’t like this, it’s scary!”
“This won’t last for long, Sakura. We’ll be outside in just a few minutes, you’ll see. Be patient, and it’ll all be over soon.”
She whimpered. Carefully Touya led her down the steps, the two of them creeping along Clow’s passage, and his adrenaline started to hum again. Maybe it was only natural that Sakura was a little nervous, he reasoned, after all she hadn’t had time to adjust like he did. She’d be happy enough once they were free of this castle.
With a grand gesture he shoved open the exit. A gust immediately blew out his torch, but it had served its purpose. He let it fall to the floor, and stepped out onto the narrow ledge.
“Ta-da!”
Eyes big with fear, Sakura leaned out of the passage doorway and peered at the immense drop. “It’s so far down. What is this place?”
“We’re in the back of the castle. Did you ever suspect it looked like this? I didn’t. And look, this path will lead us all the way around and up into the forest. This is our way out!”
He pointed, but Sakura wasn’t looking at him, gaze still locked on the canyon depths. “It’s… dark down there.”
“Of course it’s dark, the sunlight won’t reach into a place like that.”
“Not dark like that,” she muttered, and something about her tone triggered an uneasy twinge in Touya’s gut. But never mind that, they were wasting time.
“Well it’s only going to get darker when the sun goes down, so come on. I want to be under the trees before the sun sets.”
“Onii-chan, no. I don’t want to do this, I don’t like this place!”
“Sakura, enough!” Starting to lose patience, Touya fell into his old habits of brotherly authority. “It’s safe enough if you walk sensibly, but it isn’t a place to fool around. Don’t make me pick you up and carry you. Now do as I say, and start walking.”
For as long as she lived she’d been raised to obey that tone, and meekly she followed him out onto the path. Touya exhaled with relief, and turned his attention to the next problem. He hadn’t followed the path all the way to the forest, before, but he had no doubts about its worth. Why build a back route that led to nowhere? Still, he worried that it might dip too steeply or be strewn with too many loose pebbles to provide sure footing. Sakura could be klutzy at the worst moments; best to take it very slowly and carefully. Leading the way, and ignoring Sakura’s increasingly frequent whimpers behind him, Touya kept close to the wall and crept forward.
At first it was fine; the path remained relatively level and its surface smooth. Eventually, however, the jutting ledge began to slope downward and the going was getting rougher.
“Careful now, Sakura, be sure to watch where you put your foot. Okay?”
She mumbled something, and he checked over his shoulder. Her face was absolutely white with fear, her body almost adhered to the canyon wall beside them. He hoped she wouldn’t faint – this wasn’t really a part of his calculations either. Sakura had never been afraid of heights.
Lower and lower they traveled. It was almost scary how fast the light disappeared, even though they were barely inside the canyon and it was still early afternoon. Something about the darkness below them seemed to reach up, as if it were eager to push back against the daylight; the very air around them seemed almost gray. Another gust blew up from beneath, unaccountably chilly in the golden days of late summer. It carried a dank and musty odor that made Touya wrinkle his nose, and he had a vague feeling he’d smelled it somewhere before. But that was not really his top concern right now, and the thought passed in the time it took to place his next step.
Through the twilight the siblings crept. It was so still down here; Touya had scaled mountain cliffs before and knew that life existed in all sorts of unlikely places – the nest of an eagle, holes from which little rodents poked their noses, and the constant scuttling of insects. But nothing here breathed but him and his sister, and the silence was complete. Touya was starting to worry this path would go all the way to the canyon floor before it rose up again to meet the forest, but to his relief it finally leveled out again. They’d been inching along for more than an hour and were well beyond what distance he’d tested, so he was as surprised as Sakura when they came upon their next obstacle.
The path was gone. Not dwindling away into the cliff wall gradually, but cut off with an abruptness that made Touya think it could not be natural. Not just the path but an entire chunk of the cliff wall beside it, almost hemispherical, as if a fairy tale giant had come along and bitten it out. The path wasn’t gone forever, though, maybe ten steps away it resumed its course in a slope that was now upward in nature. They were so close now; Touya could see with heartrending clarity how it wound up the cliffside and melted into the canyon edge. He could even see the individual leaves of the trees, their branches hanging over the edge so tantalizingly close.
All that separated them from their freedom was this gap, and the ancient bridge that spanned it.
It was the first mark of humanity since they’d left the castle, and it seemed unnatural here, out of place. God only knew how old it was, probably hundreds of years, but at least it was something. Touya knelt and tentatively tapped a knuckle against the withered planks, gray as everything else down here. The construction was simple, designed to meet the minimum needs and nothing more. Narrow slats of wood arranged in a row, more or less side to side, stretched across the distance on a pair of braided ropes pinned by heavy boulders. The wood was dry and brittle, that much he could see just by looking, but the gaps between them weren’t so bad and at least they were wide, which increased their strength. He pinched the rope, and found that it was coarse and dry but did not fall apart at his touch.
“Onii-chan…” His sister was backing away, plainly horrified. “You’re not thinking of getting on that thing, are you?”
“Sakura, it’s the only way. You know we can’t jump that distance.”
“Onii-chan, you’re mad! That bridge looks as old as the hills, it will fall apart if we breathe on it!”
“Sakura, you’re overreacting. Look, we’re directly under the open sky. It’s been rained on, probably hailed and snowed on, all this time and it’s still here. Obviously it must be tough. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
“No!”
“Sakura, we have to! Can’t you see how close we are? We just have to cross this one little bridge and then we’ll be just a few minutes from the forest! Away from the castle! Free.”
“Onii-chan, we can’t do this! I have a really bad feeling.”
“You’re just nervous, that’s all. I’ll go first.”
“No!” Frantically she snagged her brother’s arm and pulled him back when he tried to turn away. “Onii-chan, please!”
“Sakura, stop it!” Her shaking hands and tearful eyes were starting to jangle his nerves, and Touya wanted an absolutely clear head for this next step. Impatiently he pried her hand off.
“I know you’re scared, and that’s okay. But we don’t have any other choice, Sakura. This is the only way.”
“We could go back,” she pressed. “It’s not too late. Let’s just go back and forget we ever saw this path or that secret passage -”
“Sakura, what is the matter with you? We’re this close to getting away forever and you want to give up?”
“Getting away from what? Is the castle really so terrible? How can you want to run away – won’t you miss Master Yue? Won’t he miss you? If you do this, you’ll never see him again!”
A pair of tears spilled over onto her cheeks, as if she was the one with her heart at stake. Her words touched a raw emotion within Touya that he was desperately trying to ignore and the result was a flash of defensive anger.
“Don’t talk about him!”
She jumped, and instantly he regretted the outburst. “Sorry! I’m sorry, Sakura, I didn’t mean to yell. I just… I’ve thought about this very carefully, and I’m sure this is the right thing to do. We had our whole lives in front of us, Sakura, and we had our home. I know it wasn’t a lot, but it was ours, and we worked so hard for it. Nobody had a right to take it from us. Don’t you remember, Sakura? What it was like to sleep in a bed and go outside whenever you wanted to?”
She was silent and still, but a ghost of longing in her eyes was more than enough evidence to prove that yes, she did remember. Touya leaned forward, his eyes level with hers, and placed his hands on her shoulders.
“Sakura, I am your older brother. Haven’t I always looked out for you, and taken care of you? Kept you safe, even here in this castle?”
Stiffly she nodded.
“You trust me, don’t you?”
“Yes,” came the whispered reply.
“Good. So if I say that we’re going to be fine, and that we can go home, you have to believe me. I have always been here for you, and nothing is going to change now. Right?”
Sakura hiccuped and nodded.
“Okay. Now I’m going to cross this bridge, and I’m going to be very careful about it. We’ll go one at a time. If it can handle my weight, then it can certainly handle yours. So no more crying, and no more panicking. Got that?”
“Yes, Onii-chan.”
“Good girl.” He kissed her swiftly on her forehead and straightened, turning around. Reassuring words for Sakura were one thing, but even Touya quailed a little when he looked at their flimsy route to freedom. If there were any other way, he knew he would have chosen to go around. But there wasn’t, and the sight of the breeze rustling those leaves made him greedy. They couldn’t turn back when they were so close, they had to try.
The first plank groaned alarmingly under his weight, and he could hear Sakura’s sharp intake of breath along with his own. Standing was dangerous, especially since there was nothing like a handrail rope to hold. Quickly Touya dropped to his hands and knees, which would spread out his weight and relieve pressure. The bridge still creaked and groaned, but there weren’t any cracking sounds and that was a good thing. Even more slowly than he’d walked the cliff path, Touya crawled across this bridge – inch by agonizing inch. Gaps between the planks displayed in perfect acrophobic detail just how lethal this gamble of his was, and he did not dare look away from the task of finding handholds. It was a short bridge, and in reality it probably didn’t take Touya more than ten minutes to cross it. But to him it was a terrifying lifetime, and he didn’t realize how little he’d been breathing until his weight was firmly back on the path. Almost ready to faint, he collapsed against its solid surface gratefully.
Sakura cheered. “You made it! Onii-chan, it was okay!”
“I told you it would be,” he wheezed. “Now you know it’s safe. Ready?”
A little of the color drained from her face and she gulped, but she nodded. “Come on then, I’ll be here waiting for you. It’s really not far at all.”
Just as he had, Sakura dropped to her hands and knees and crawled forward onto the planks. She was so small and light compared to him, surely it would be fine.
“Nice and slow, there you go. Try to put your hands and knees as far to the sides as you can, the planks are going to be weaker in the middle. Careful for those gaps.”
“It’s so far down…”
“Don’t look at it, Sakura, just concentrate on where you’re putting your hands. Just a little more and then I’ll pull you to safety.”
She was having a harder time, because her filmy dress was getting in the way of her crawling. The material caught on a splintered edge and she almost fell face forward. The sudden movement had the bridge swaying and groaning beneath her, and both of them froze.
“Onii-chan…”
“No, Sakura, you have to keep going. You’re closer to this side now than the other, so you might as well. Come on, follow the sound of my voice.” Touya struggled to keep the fear out of his tone, but it wasn’t easy. If he said that he would not be able to come and help her, which was true, then she’d freeze up for sure. “You’re so close now, Sakura, just a little more.”
She was almost within arms’ reach. In preparation Touya settled himself on hands and knees, his arm reaching forward to take her hand. He didn’t care if the sudden movement of yanking her forward made the whole thing break up and fall into the abyss, he just wanted her on solid ground again and to hell with the bridge. They wouldn’t need it anymore. They were going to be free.
In his zeal to escape, Touya was not being as careful as he might ordinarily be. His ears were pricked for the sound of cracking wood, his concentration zeroed in on whatever plank Sakura touched for any signs that it might break up. What he didn’t hear, what neither could hear, was the inaudible snap of one thin fiber breaking after another. The rope that bound both edges of the bridge was old, and for centuries had endured soaking rains and then bouts of dryness, both extreme cold and baking heat. Left untested it might have lasted for years to come, but the sudden demand of weight was too much. Right in the exact center of the bridge, where weight pulled against it from either side, the individual strands of the rope began to break, and once they had begun the increased pressure on the others accelerated the process. By the time Sakura was crossing the bridge, the old rope was down to its final threads.
“Almost there!”
The rope broke with a sickening snap. And it wasn’t even the space of a heartbeat before everything that came next – Touya’s heart leaping with terror and thrusting his arm forward to grab her, Sakura’s panicked shriek, the immediate and total collapse of the bridge. Planks dropped into the darkness and so did his sister, hands clawing at the empty air and screaming. He screamed too, though he didn’t know it, her name ripping from his throat in helpless grief. She disappeared into the darkness in an instant, his life destroyed.
It was all too fast for human comprehension and his body was still frozen in place, arm stretched pointlessly out into the void as if he could still catch her. He didn’t even have the chance to move before something white and blue flashed past him, diving like a hawk into the depths. Some kind of recognition clicked in his mind, but even so he was unable to move until Yue had flapped back up to the broken path, Sakura cradled in his arms.
Her face was pure white with terror, body stiff with shock, and when Yue set her down she collapsed to the ground. But that was alright because she was alive, alive, and Touya could not convince himself of that until he’d pulled her to him and hugged her to his chest. It was unsteady, but he could feel her heartbeat against his.
And even though Touya knew he was in the worst trouble of his life, he held her close and trembled with joy.

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Disclaimer: I do not own these characters

I picked a bad week to move, didn’t I? Bad author, putting personal life ahead of fiction! And now I’ve left it on another cliffhanger, so you all hate me even more. Meh.

Everybody’s been leaving such great reviews lately! There was quite a lot of freaking out, just as I predicted (hell, even I was freaking out and I knew it was going to happen!), and I had a great time reading them. I think I have to share Review Spotlight between three of you, cuz it was just that hard to choose.
First, Lerry Saya, who made up for lack of previous reviewing by writing a novel-sized one this last time around. You made some great points! And asked a pretty good question, too. Does Yue dislike violence? Not really; it’s just that for most of his life Clow would have worked very hard to train Yue’s self-control, because someone so strong must learn to use it sparingly. Usually it’s not a problem but that control has been slipping ever since he met Touya, as we have seen in the past and will see again next chapter. Yue is definitely capable of killing, and would immediately do so to protect his slave, without qualms. The reason he forbids servants from fistfighting in the castle is because he feels it’s disrespectful to Clow.
And then there’s The Critic, who asked a good question about whether Touya is the stag’s reincarnation. Nothing so direct as that – there are no reincarnations of any kind in this story. What Clow meant was that Yue’s first glimpse of Touya was so very like that situation that he’d met the stag, it was inevitable that Yue would be compelled to keep him. That urge to possess and tame is the same, just with a different target. It’s a little weird to compare Touya to a wild animal, I know, but then Yue often treats Touya more like a pet than a slave anyway.
And finally Taboo, who practically knocked me to the floor with her review. How the hell did you remember that? Yes, I did place that quote in Chapter 12 with the express purpose of foreshadowing to the stag scene, but it was over two years ago and I didn’t think anyone would remember! Do you have photographic memory or what?

Can’t say if the next update will be one or two weeks, kids, but I can say that I know exactly what’s going to happen and wow, do I feel sorry for Touya. You think he got punished before? You ain’t seen nuthin yet.

Cheers.
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Pleasure Slave